Singapore police bag $1.14m in pirated software

Local police in Singapore have uncovered a haul of suspected unlicensed software at a manufacturing company, according to a software industry lobbying group.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said the Singapore Police Force seized 10 copies of suspected pirated software found on computers on the premises of the unnamed company, worth around $1.14m (£696,000). The seized software included Mastercam v9 and Mastercam X5 from CNC Software, a member of BSA, the group reported.

BSA added that it is currently investigating more than eight reports from its anti-piracy reporting website. Tip-offs submitted via the site have "surged" following intensified anti-piracy efforts from November 2010 to early 2011, it noted. At the same time, BSA increased rewards for successful leads from $16,240 to $40,600, as well as "instant rewards" of $812 for qualified informants.